SOUTH CHINA SEA Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â
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Context
- Faced with South China Sea challenges, Philippines buys missile system from India.
About
- Location: The South China Sea is a marginal sea of the Western Pacific Ocean. It is bounded in the north by the shores of South China (hence the name), in the west by the Indochinese Peninsula, in the east by the islands of Taiwan and northwestern Philippines (mainly Luzon, Mindoro and Palawan), and in the south by Borneo, eastern Sumatra and the Bangka Belitung Islands.
- State Boundaries: States and territories with borders on the sea (clockwise from north) include: the People's Republic of China, the Republic of China (Taiwan), the Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei, Indonesia and Vietnam.
- Straits nearby: It communicates with the East China Sea via the Taiwan Strait; the Philippine Sea via the Luzon Strait; the Sulu Sea via the straits around Palawan; the Strait of Malacca via the Strait of Singapore; and the Java Sea via the Karimata and Bangka Strait.
- Gulf that are its parts: The Gulf of Thailand and the Gulf of Tonkin are part of the South China Sea.
- Economic and Geostrategic importance : The South China Sea is a region of tremendous economic and geostrategic importance. One-third of the world's maritime shipping passes through it. Huge oil and natural gas reserves are believed to lie beneath its seabed. It also contain lucrative fisheries, which are crucial for the food security of millions in Southeast Asia.
- Rivers flowing: Major rivers that flow into the South China Sea include the Pearl, Min, Jiulong, Red, Mekong, Rajang, Pahang, Agno, Pampanga, and Pasig Rivers.
- Territorial claims: The South China Sea disputes involve both island and maritime claims within the region by several sovereign states, namely Brunei, the People's Republic of China (PRC), Taiwan (Republic of China/ROC), Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Vietnam.
Islands and seamounts
- The South China Sea contains over 250 small islands, atolls, cays, shoals, reefs, and sandbars, most of which have no indigenous people, many of which are naturally under water at high tide, and some of which are permanently submerged. The features are:
- The Spratly Islands
- The Paracel Islands
- Pratas Island and the Vereker Banks
- The Macclesfield Bank
- The Scarborough Shoal
- The nine-dash line refers to the ill-defined demarcation line used by the People's Republic of China (China) for its claims of the major part of the South China Sea.
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